Thanks for that Jen - looks like we can start to dream of accessing the records again.
Molly - I take your point that some archives show distressing signs of "broken Britain" and budgetary cuts. I'm hoping that The Story will be like Northumberland Records Office by which I mean that it will provide a good environment for research (whether or not shared with other council services) and some innovation in the provision of records previously only available on microfilm, i.e. that they'e started down the digitisation track. I feel sorry for the staff at Tyne and Wear, clearly underfunded, understaffed and coping with a dwindling number of knackered old microfilm readers.
I'm optimistic about "The Story". Don't start me on the daft name though - I already have to remember that "The Word" is actually South Shields Library, "The Hive" is Worcester Records Office and Library (near where I live currently), "The Great North Museum" is the Hancock and now "The Story"... sheesh. Life was so much easier with plain old {insert county here} Records Office. The marketing wonks have taken over!
